Celtic may not be searching for a manager currently, but they could well be doing it soon.
Brendan Rodgers is in an uncertain position in the final year of his contract, having promised to honour his three-year deal.
Rodgers has said that he is open to staying under the right conditions, but without knowing exactly what those conditions are, a contract extension appears unlikely at the moment.
Concerns are much more immediate at Rangers, who have been rejected by Steven Gerrard having sacked Russell Martin after an extremely short spell. Kevin Muscat, Danny Rohl and Derek McInnes are among the names being mentioned.
A more speculative suggestion has been Frank Lampard, who is flying at Coventry. But for one former Scotland defender, those calls need a reality check.
Stephen O’Donnell on Frank Lampard managing Celtic or Rangers
Lampard has been linked with both managerial vacancies in Glasgow in the past, but there has never seemingly been any concrete chance of a move.
His position as a former top midfielder for England makes him very similar to Gerrard – but he has a more comprehensive managerial CV.
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For Stephen O’Donnell, there are wider circumstances at the two clubs which rule out any realistic prospect of hiring a manager like Lampard.
He said on Clyde Superscoreboard: “I think it becomes, sadly, the market that Celtic and Rangers are in. You’re looking for a high-calibre manager who is maybe getting a bit older who has lost a couple of jobs, but has a previous track record.
“Obviously Rodgers is an amazing manager for Celtic, but had lost the Liverpool job, been out of work and had obviously done well at Swansea before that.
“That market is kind of awkward. Lampard I don’t think for a minute is going to come to Rangers. And I don’t mean that as how big Celtic and Rangers are, but the current circumstances at Coventry, they’re doing as well.
He’ll be thinking he can get a Premier League club if he keeps this up, or he will be in the Premier League with Coventry. And I just think that’s a market that Scottish football can’t really attract.”
Rodgers is an example of the high-calibre appointments that O’Donnell is mentioning – he is glossing over the fact that Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea and Everton.
Who will be the next Celtic manager?
The prospect of Rodgers extending his stay feels less likely every day, and if this remains the case, we will have to have the conversation at some point about who the next Celtic manager should be.
Shaun Maloney’s credentials as Celtic manager have been brought up by Charlie Mulgrew, whilst current Motherwell boss Jens Askou has also been given unlikely tips for the job in recent weeks.
John Kennedy will also likely be in the picture, having rejected a host of jobs from elsewhere to stay on Celtic’s coaching staff for over a decade.
Will it be an external candidate? If it is, it a may be difficult to sell it to a high-calibre candidate given the well-documented transfer struggles that Rodgers had,
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